Janome 6600 mystery

I got my Janome 6600 in February so have a good deal of experience on it, but feel I'm still in the learning stages. When I sew straight stitches it's doing fine, but just a few days ago it started chewing on fabric when I set it for decorative stitches - the blanket stitch and zigzag are what I have tried. The feed dogs move the fabrid ahead for a few stitches then it sits and chews the fabric until I stop it. The thread is then wrapped around the stitch plate and I have to use my ripper to get under there and cut through the stitches. I've done all the usual - new needle, off then on, cleaned out bobbin casing, basically the things I do anytime there's a problem. I've put the dogs up and down just in case they were somehow stuck. I had a deadline and ended up finishing two quilts on my little Brother machine. My husband is going to call the repair shop on Monday and see if he can get any quick help. If it goes into the shop they say to expect a 4 week wait for repair.

Anyone have something like this happen to this machine? It went from working to not working in the blink of an eye!

This is something I've experienced with my Pfaff, not so much with my Janome. (In fact my Pfaff and I have not 'gelled', but that's another story ).

I read somewhere that machines 'eating' fabric is a common problem with wider stitch widths. If I have to use my decorative stitch plate instead of my straight stitch plate, I start off each new section with a 'leader' - a small piece of fabric to be cut off later - and this has largely solved the problem. I also noticed a difference when I changed to a new needle - it did it less often.

When I was using the decorative stitch I was sewing down binding - so starting in the middle of a side. The leader idea won't work there. I put in a new needle for each project so ... don't think that's it, but it's certainly easy enough to check on that one and try another new one.

I have a 7700 and my machine was terrible when I was sewing on some loosely woven fabric - similar to what you described. For my project I was able to iron on a lightweight fusible interfacing and then finish.

the results of my first foray into decorative stitching with my 6600P were ... shall we say ... less than impressive.
i finally swallowed my pride and hauled out the manual. LOL

page 88 shows how to use the Feed Balancing Dial.
fiddling with the settings makes a huge difference when working with the deco stitches.

check page 25 for info about adjusting the foot pressure.

if you are using one of the dual feed feet, also take a gander at page 36, which talks about using that dial to make adjustments.

other things to check:
1. are you using the correct size needle?
2. are you using the best foot for that particular stitch/set?
3. are you using a thread that works well for deco stitches?

i always test on scraps. sew some together so you can test and practice stitching over and across seams.
when you find the best combination of settings, needle, thread, etc for a stitch/set make sure to write it all down. if you turn off the machine in the middle of your project, you'll be able to get started again without all the fuss and bother of repeating your experiments.

I Quilt, I Nap, I Quilt Some More ... Aaaaah, The Good Life!
I also have an eddres you can use if you need to contact me with questions or suggestions that relate to our community: patricej@quiltingboard.com

Good run down from PatriceJ on the possibilities ... thanks PJ, you saved me a lot of typing, and made a lot more sense than I would have!

A further suggestion ... when making all the adjustments as she has mentioned ... make only one change at a time. Otherwise you will not know what made the difference!

And very much so ... write down the final winning combo, then next time, you can start there for your initial checks on the test strips.

Remember, the different fabric/batting/thread combos from one time to another can alter your settings/results. Likewise, when doing your tests, make sure you are replicating the quilt itself for those fabric/batting/threads.

This is pretty obvious, but..... I got my 6600 to leave at the vacation home on the lake. I got it in September and that year we didnt go there in the winter. I must've changed the needle plate to the straight stitch one and forgot that it came with 2 plates. I was trying to do a zigzag or decorative stitch and it would stitch a couple and then stop and stitch in place. I called the shop and she even asked me about the plate. I ended up driving 30 miles to take it in and sure enough she sat down, looked at it and said you have the wrong plate on here! I was so embarrassed! I felt stupid. Then I had to find the plate- it doesn't fit into the accesory box- ended up being in between folds of fabric. Changed the plate and low and behold- it was fine. I hope that your problem is an inexpensive fix. It's really a great machine and I truly love it.

A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;